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Colony Name: Al'Vadnis World
Creator: James Braun
paytenl@cadvision.com
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GEOGRAPHY
System/Location: Second Planet of the Rigellius Novum system,
bordering Orion space
Distance to nearest Starbase:
24 days to SB KAPPA
Planet Classification: K-Class. Al'Vadnis World was considered
M-Class until 2150, by which point the ecology
had been so ravaged by industry and warfare
that most of the surface was virtually
uninhabitable. The Al'Vadni government has
constructed climate-controlled domes over the
cities, insulating them from the noxious
elements. It is not considered safe to
venture into rural areas unprotected for
more than a day.
Satellites/Space Stations:
Two orbital docking pads, stationed in
geosynchronous orbit above the poles. An
orbital defense station, owned and manned by
the Al'Vadni government. A subspace comm array
consisting of a satellite net in low planetary
orbit.
Land/Water Ratio: 45%/55%
Climate controlled: Yes. The once idyllic ecosystems of Al'Vadnis
World have been devastated by industrial
plunder and successive conquests by the
Rigellians and Orion. Envirionmental
reclamation efforts were abandoned in 2141,
replaced by a program of envirionmental control
in urban areas. Due to a host of ecological
problems too numerous to mention, the rural
parts of the planet are still barely habitable.
Native Sentient Life: Al'Vadni recorded in his journal the presence
of a species of "social jellyfish" which
inhabited the inland sea near his settlement.
Although these creatures were long extinct
before anyone could be bothered to do a
xenozoological survey, many people now
believe these creatures may well have been
sentient.
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COLONY INFORMATION
Colony Age: 560 years
Population: 3 000 000 000
The population is in slow decline; the birth
rate is almost non-existant, immigration making
for most of the replacement.
Species Present: Rigellian 30%
Orion 22%
Cardassian 11%
Andorian 8%
Gorn 8%
Human 5%
Naussican 4%
Ferengi 4%
Other 7%
Colony Status: Indpendant. The Al'Vadni government
unilaterally declared itsef sovereign from
the Federation in 2136; in spite of UFP
diplomatic protests, no military expedition
was ever sent to reclaim the world.
Government: Police dictatorship. The Al'Vadni planetary
government ordered it's own dissolution and
the institution of martial law under the
militia in 2134. Martial law persists to this
day, under the supreme authority of the
Al'Vadni Police Commissioner.
Major Cities/Settlements:
Al'Vadni Bay(capitol): 34 000 000
Fort Rigel: 30 000 000
Eeomoliv: 26 000 000
Creastix: 26 000 000
Aoxomoxoa: 24 000 000
Z'drami: 24 000 000
Dlumion: 20 000 000
History: The first settlers on Al'Vadnis World were
the marooned surivors of a Rigellian survey
expedition, led by Draivic Al'Vadni. In 1856,
his ship was caught in an ion storm and was
forced to land on the planet. Unable to make
repairs, the 50 or so colonists founded the
Al'Vadni Bay settlement.
Al'Vadnis journal describes the planet as an
idyllic, pristine wilderness, a natural
paradise. Unfortunately, the shipwrecked crew
was ill-prepared for settlement; the primitive
conditions claimed many lives. When another
Rigellian expedition entered the system some
sixty years later, all they found were the
ruins of Al'Vadni Bay and it's namesakes
journal.
The planet was officially christened Al'Vadnis
World in honour of it's heroic first governor,
and a new Al'Vadni Bay settlement was built on
the foundations of the old.
Strategically positioned between the
newly-discovered Shrevashal homeworld and
the galaxy's commercial center, Al'Vadnis
World soon became a popular stop-over on the
slave run. Al'Vadni Bay grew up as a slave
market, spawning a large hospitality industry
which later carried the colony after the
Orion slave trade dried up.
The end of the Orion slave trade marked the
beginning of troubles for the colony. The
local economy made the transition from slavery
to tourism easily enough, but Orion
expansionism led the Shrevashal to make
overtures towards the Rigellius Novum
system. An increasingly bold pirate fleet
disrupted trade and frightened off tourism;
later, Al'Vadnis World fell prey to the Orion
navy.
The Orion immediately began stripping the
planet's resources bare; grouped in massive
labour camps, the captured Rigellian colonists
strip mined and logged their world into
near-oblivion. The Orion pirates found the
world particularly favourable to their
interests, her location made it a perfect
headquarters for striking at the galactic
trade routes. The Orion held the colony
for eighteen years, until the outbreak of
war in 2132.
When Rigel recovered the colony, they found it
a barren wasteland, littered with the scars
of strip mining and crude processing plants
which had pumped tonnes of noxious chemicals
into the atmosphere. The reclamation process
would be enormous; for four years, the Rigel
government shipped her political dissidents
and criminals out to the colony to assist in
cleaning up the envirionment. Fort Rigel was
constructed, housing a small garrison of
ground forces to assist in defense.
In 2136, the Orion made one final push in an
attempt to reclaim the world; the Rigellian
military opted to retreat and abandon the
colony. A hastily-organized militia effort
scrambled to defend the planet, however; after
a six-month seige the Orions withdrew.
According to the treaty which ended the Orion's
war with the Federation, Al'Vadnis World was
deemed a UFP protectorate. However, the
planet's large Orion minority and number
of anti-Federation Rigellian dissidents made
it difficult to establish a UFP presence.
After her dissolution in 2136, the colonial
government was never restored. A trumped-up
pro-UFP demonstration(and subsequent riot)
only gave the militia extra reason to keep
martial law in effect, a state which persists
to this day.
But while security for the colony seemed
guaranteed, Al'Vadnis World faced crippling
economic and envirionmental problems. The
UFP imposed economic sanctions on the colony
prohibiting trade(although this meant little
in practise; the colony had scarce industrial
capabilities and virtually nothing in the way
of natural resources) in an attempt to starve
the militia dictatorship out of office. In
a desperate bid to attract commerce, the
militia introduced it's corporate license
program; for a fee, a company could purchase
a license to do business on the planet, and
would enjoy considerable legal immunity.
Mercenaries, organized crime figures, smugglers
and spies came from all over the Quadrant to
set up shop, people for whom the trade blockade
was meaningless anyway, and who valued the
colony's laissez-faire way of doing things over
it's political troubles. Revenues from the
licenses made the colony one of the richest,
if not the most hospitable, worlds in
Federation space; the government was soon able
to modernize their defense forces and establish
a standing navy to defend the system from
unwelcome intruders. Powerful friends were
bought in the Romulan senate, who convinced
the Praetor to issue a guarantee of the
planet's neutrality.
Economy: Due to the often transient nature of Al'Vadnis
population, a number of currencies are accepted
in trade, depending on who you're talking to.
Latinum, naturally, is the most widely
accepted, but just about any currency from a
spacefaring power is likely to be recognized
by someone.
Little exists in the way of "legitimate"
exports on Al'Vadnis World, irresponsible
resource management by previous governments
have left the planet barren and unsuitable
for a competitive manufacturing center.
The backbone of the economy comes from piracy,
providing jobs for a third of the population
and the importation of most of the consumer
goods. Trade treaties exist with the Romulan
and Cardassian governments, importing food
and the remainder of the necessities of life
not immediately available to the populace.
Cities like Aoxomoxoa and Eeomoliv, too, have
developed enormous casino and nightclub
districts, providing outrageous entertainment
for spacers. Aoxomoxoa in particular is
renowned for it's sex trade, one of the few
places in the galaxy where Orion "slave" women
are still available for an evening's
entertainment.
The government collects no taxes, relying
instead on the licensing fees to maintain
revenue.
Tech Level: Modern. Al'Vadnis pure research sector is
understandably absent; most of the technology
on the planet has been bought or stolen from
a variety of sources. Klingon, Romulan,
Cardassian, Orion, Ferengi, and even Iconian
devices supplement UFP technology, cobbled
together in ways that would baffle their
designers. Occassionally, too, a device of
origin unknown to anyone finds it's way into
the melange.
Culture: Life on Al'Vadnis World is typically
fast-paced, cosmopolitan, and high-risk. The
population is overwhelmingly urbanized; the
rural areas are universally semi-frozen desert
choking in thick clouds of smog and locked
in perpetual twilight. The domed cities offer
the most comfort and protection against the
elements.
As the police force is dedicated more to
protecting it's own interests than those of
the citizenry, the crime rate is exceeedingly
high. Murder, mugging, and a host of other
violent acts against the common citizen are
rampant; the only people who enjoy a certain
protection are the commercial license owners.
Business conducts itself according to the
harshest rules of the market economy: all is
fair and nothing is illegal. Narcotics,
weapons and prostitution are all legitimate
and lucrative industries, making up the largest
share of consumer goods purchased by the
natives. The casinos and nightclubs dot the
cityscapes and are perpetually full.
Al'Vadnis World never sleeps, the entire planet
runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days
a standard year. There are reports that
suggest only a third of the population has any
notion of a calender, and a tenth doesn't even
pay attention to the time. In poorer sections
of the planet, homeless street urchins behave
almost as animals insulated in technocracy.
Notes: I thought it might help to list some influences
in creating this planet. Among others, I
think it holds flavours of _Logan's_Run_,
_Max_Headroom_ and _Blade_Runner_, with
some elements of Kafka woven throughout.
Using any of those sources ought to help
set the intended atmosphere.